Fruit preparation machine



Jan. 16, 1940. e. c. cooNs 2,187,075

FRUIT PREPRATION MACHINE Filed May 3, 1957 15 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7 5 3/5 Z3 254 267 i' ,uw

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l wem/v C. Coo/vs Jan. 1s, 1940. B. C. COONS `2,137,075

FRUIT PREPARATION MACHINE IN V EN TOR.

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Jan. 16, 1940. a. cfcooNs FRUIT PREPARATION MACHINE Filed May 5, 1937 15Sheets-Sheet 6 W x /f :1.4L H muli@ I www w m M n a a 7 n i u HHIMHW O y/ll/l .J QQ/ 7 7 Z, 3 3 1M xn. ww 7%.. 1f, 5d M llm my 1 n, x7 7 y ai u0 mu M/ MF m n n 2 a Z a, 4

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liled Hay 5, 1937 ,15 .Sheets-Sheet 7 I IH IIINIH Jan. 16, 1940. B. c.commsV `21,187,075 nun namur-Ion ucan mad my 3,' .1937 v15 shuts-sagst eY INVENTOR. Bmw/v C. Coo/vs A TTOR Jan. 16, 1940. B. c'. coNs FRUITPREPARATION IACHINE Filed vMay '5, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 .5 MM To NC EVC. MN m U 5 Jan. 16, 1940. les. c. cooNs 2,187,075

FRUIT PREPARATION MACHINE Filed May 3, 1957 l5 Sheets-Sheet l0 INVENTOR.BURTON C. Coo/vs ATToR Y Jan.16,194o. BQCOONS 4.2,187,075

4 FRUIT PREPARATIO MACHINE l Filed May 3, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 11INVENToR. BURTON C. CooNs mn i l Jan. 16, 1940. e. C. Gems 2,187,075

Faun' PREPARATION MACHINE Filed May 3, 1937 15 sheets-sne1 12 3/4 J/ 3/3./Z E 3 3ds 335 306 v 305 326 1 '26 i 328 334 328 337 3o a v 33 7 336 Z3l 5.9? 33 y 337 Jz/ 34/ l e .538 324 v l 34/ 3 s .7 Jaz 7/ 'i gli] 1v 33 l I i* Y INVENToR.

Jan. 16, 1940. y B. c. COQNS 2,187,075

FRUIT PREPARATION MACHINE Filed May 3. 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 13 INVENoR.n Buero/v C'. Coo/vs ATTO Jan. 16, 1940. B. c. cooNs 2,187,075

FRUIT PREPARATION MACHINE Filed 5, 1937 5 sheets-sheet 14 INVENTOR 5w@ro/v C C 00A/5 ATTORNEY B. C. COONS FRUIT PREPARATION MACHINE Jan. 16,1940.

Filed nay :5, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 15 v 1N? 15u/won C. Cao/vs K Y ATTOEY Planea .ha is, 1940 4OFF ICE rams `Bumm c. cnonnrqrtland. Orcs..:assigner -fo l'F0061 Machinery Cor-natation. rSm Jose. Galli.. acorporati,0.1.1 of e Delaware Application may 3.1931, No. 140,325

zz (ci. 14H3) 'I'he present invention relates to' fruit prep, arationmachines, andimore particularly; to a machine of that character which iseslpexziallyy adapted for use inprocessing fruit, such yas pears,

| toprepare the fruit for canning.

It is an object of the invention yto provide `an improved fruit'preparation machine for stem.-

ming, Peeling, trimming. coring and splitting yfruit such as pears. l

.10 Another object of the invention" is tovprovide an improved fruitpreparation machine', -vwhich `is adapted to process fruit such .aspears in'prep,

aration forthe canning operation.. and'to obtain a high yield in ynumberof cases of Acannnedfpeitrs u per ton of ,fruit processed. f'

Another object of the invention visp-to provide I improved centering andfeeding meansfor a pear preparation machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide 20 improved fruit`supporting means to supportthe fruit during the peeling andtrimmix'igoperations. Another object of the invention is to provideimproved peeling means for a pear preparation machine, which will peelvarious sizes andshapes of pears without gouging in passing over thecurved portions lof the fruit. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a peelingv knife ofspecial contour Vto facilitate peeling of the fruit.

n Another object Vof the invention is to provide improved means forpreventing injury to thepeel.- ing knife and the stemming tube 'in theevent fruit is not fed onto the stemming tube. l' Another object of theinvention is to provide u improved cam control means for causingapeeling knife to follow the contour of a pear orv similar fruit duringthe peeling operation. Another object of the invention is to provide.improved means for trimming the calyx end of o fruit.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved coring means forremoving the seed cells of pears and similar fruit.

Other objects will appear as the description 45 progresses withreference to the following drawings, illustrating a preferred embodimentof the.

invention especially designed for the preparation of pears.

` Fig. .1 is a front elevation of the machine with 50 certain partsbroken away and omitted `for purposes of clarity.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a plan of the wp Dart of the machine,

illustrating the drive mechanism. l n Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of themachine with .certeinperts-broken away and others omitted for .purposesof clarity.

a longitudinal verticall section taken inthe lplane ofthe line y5 5 inFig. 1.

`Fig. 6 is `ahorizontal sectional view taken in I planes indicated,bythe line `6 6 in Fig. 1.

Fig. y'l is a vertical sectional Vview of the coring .knife vtaken-in -aplane'indicated by lthe line 1 1 inkFig.'6.'

lFig..8. is an elevational view ofthe coring knife. 1

Fig. 9 is a horizontalectional view of the cor- -ing'knlfe taken in -theplane of the line 8 9, F18- y8- -Fig. loisa plan view of thefeedcarriage, showing itat one end of itsreciprocatory travel, where `1gfruit ,isfedto the various mechanisms carried thereby.

Fig.A 11 is an enlarged front elevational view of the 'centeringA clampssimilar to that shown in Fig. 1. 20 Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional viewof the cen-` tering clampstaken in a plane indicated by the line IZ |2in Fig. 1 0.

`Fig.13 is vva planview-of Athefeed carriage, similar {to Fig. 10, butshowingthe feed carriage at the otherend of its travel. where fruitisdelivered therefrom yto various processingimechanisms.

Fig. 1.4 is an enlargedyiew of the stemming tube, partly in section.

Fig. 15 is 'a detailed sectional view through the so stem end trimmingmeans, and is taken in a plane indicated by the line .I5-.I5 in Figi1-3.

Fig. 16 is an. enlarged elevational view of the peeling assembly,similar to that shown in Fig. .1.

Fig. 16a is enlarged view of the calyx trimu ming knife, y.partly insection, illustrating the adjustahlemountingofthe fruit engaging Yguardthereof.

Fig. 1,7 isan enlarged plan view v,of the peeling ,assemblmjsimilar tothat. shown in Fig. 6. o

Fig.f18 is a perspective view of the knife supporting bracket.

Fig. -19 isa vperspective view of the peeling knife controlfcam.

20-is a detailed sectional view through the 45 peeling assembly, takenintheplane of the line I 2li-20 in `16, with the parts shown in adifferent ope'rativeposition.

Fig. 21 is a view of vthe fruit engaging side of .the peelngknifef 54,

Fig. `22 is an-enlarged lperspective view `,of the peeling knife.

Fig. 23 is an enlarged perspective view of the lblade of the peenngknife.

sembly taken as indicated by the line 24-24 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 25 is another elevational view of the knife assembly taken asindicated by the line 25-25 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 26 is a perspective view of the guide control means for the peelingknife.

Fig. 27 is a perspective end View of the calyx trimming knife, with thecalyx end of a pear diagrammatically shown in position for the trimmingoperation.

Figs. 28 to 31 are diagrammatic views illustrating the peeling knife invarious positions on a pear during the peeling operation.

Fig. 32 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the coring mechanism.

Fig. 33 is an enlarged plan view of the coring mechanism.

Figs. 34 and 35 are schematic phantom views of certain of the operativeparts of the machine at different times during the cycle of operationsin processing a pear.

Fig. 36 is an elevation of a modified form of the splitting mechanism.

Fig. 37 is a plan view of such modied splitting mechanism and is takenin a plane indicated by the line 31-31 in Fig. 36.

Fig. 38 is a chart illustrating the timing of the operation and therespective movements of the various operative processing parts.

GENERAL DrScBm'roN The fruit preparation machine of my invention isadapted to subject fruit such as pears successively to a series ofoperations, including stemming, peeling, trimming, coring and splitting.to produce pear halves ready for canning operations. As illustrated, themachine is constructed for two series of pears which are fedsimultaneously andv processed simultaneously by a similar series yofmechanisms.

The machine will be described first in a general manner to enable abetter understanding of various cross references which will be made inthe description of lthe various mechanisms.

The frame of the machine includes parallel base brackets I (Figs. 1, 2,4 and 5) which are connected by front cross bar 2 and rear cross bar 3.On base brackets I, similar upright standards 4 are suitably secured,with cross brackets 5, 5 and 1 (Fig. 4) extending therebetween tosupport various mechanisms as referred to hereinafter.

The drive mechanism comprises a drive shaft I0 (Fig. 3) which isjournalled in suitable bosses of journal brackets II suitably mounted onthe standards 4. Shaft I0 may be driven through a suitable clutch I2 asby a chain I3 from any suitable source of power, such as an electricmotor or the like, as controlled by clutch control lever I4. Drive shaftI0 carries a pinion I6, meshing with a large gear I1 on a camshaft I8,which is also suitably journalled in brackets II. The camshaft I8 servesgenerally with the cam means associated therewith to impart and controlthe movement of certain vertically reciprocable parts, as well as totransmit a drive to other operative parts of the machine. For thislatter purpose, the camshaft I8 has a bevel gear connection I9 with theupper end of a generally vertical drive shaft 20 (Figs. 3 and 4),.whichis journalled in suitable bearings on the frame. At its lower end, theshaft 20 has a bevel gear connection 2i (Fig. 4) with a camshaft 22which is journalled in suitable bosses on the standards 4,

and serves with its associated cam means to impart and control themovement of certain horizontally and vertically movable parts of themachine. It will be noted that the drive connection between respectivecamshafts I8 and 22 provides a 1 to 1 gear ratio therebetween so thatduring one cycle of operation of the machine, each control cam willrotate through 360.

As stated above, the pears are fed successively through the machine,past various processing means, and such feeding is effected in agenerally horizontal direction by means of a reciprocating feed carriage38 which comprises side bars or shafts 3i (Figs.A l, 2 and 6) which areconnected at their front ends by bracket 32. The bars 3I are slidablyjournalled in spaced bosses 33 of standards 4, and at their rear endsare pivotally connected to respective pairs of parallel links 34, eachpair of which is also pivotally connected to a cam follower arm 36. Eachcam follower arm 36 is pivotally mounted by a suitable pin in a boss 31of the adjacent standard 4, and intermediate its ends is provided with aroller 38 engaging the track of a cam 39 secured on the adjacent end ofthe camshaft 22. Cams 39 are similar and operate as described later intimed relation to other operating parts to effect periodicreciprocations of the carriage in progressing pears through the machine,a dwell being provided at each of the end positions which areillustrated in Figs. 10 and 13. To aid in the cams 35 and facilitatemovement of the carriage from the position shown in Fig. 13, rod 40 issecured to the bracket 32 of the carriage and extends through a bracket4I on the frame bar 2, and a spring 42 is interposed between bracket 4Iand a suitable washer on the rod 40 so as to urge the carriage from theposition shown in Fig. 13.

The feed carriage provides a mounting for the pear centering and feedingmeans indicated gen-- erally at 43 to which pears are fed by anoperator, and which centers and presents the pear to a pear supportingmeans 44 in the form of a stemming tube. The pear supporting means 44 iscarried by a vertically reciprocating stemming and peeling carriageindicated generally at 45, and comprising a pair of parallel verticalshafts 46 (Figs. l and 2) and a transverse extending bar 41 connectedtherebetween. Each shaft 46 is slidably journalled in vertically spacedarms 43 and 45 of the adjacent standard 4, and the carriage isspring-urged from its lower position by respective compression springs50 placed on the shafts 48 between arms 48 and suitable collars securedon the upper ends of shafts 45. To effect the vertical reciprocation ofthe carriage, bar 41 has an upstanding boss 5I which is connected by alink 52 to a cam follower arm 53 pivoted at 54 (Figs. 3 and 5) in thebracket 1. Intermediate its ends. the cam follower arm is provided witha roller 55 engaged with the track of a cam 58 on camshaft Il. Themanner in which cam 56 controls the movement of the feed carriage isdescribed in detail in connection with the description of the mechanismscarried thereby.

As described in detail hereinafter, the sternming tube reciprocatesvertically to move downwardly and impale a pear presented thereto by thefeeding and centering means, and to carry the pear upwardly forpresentation to a peeling knife 6I and a calyx trimming knife 62, whoseoperation is controlled by the carriage, as described fully hereinafter.

Also mounted on the feed carriage is a stem end trimming and transfermeans indicated generally VAprovided with a central aperture to receivethe at 63 (Figs. 1,10 and 13) which receives a pear after the stemmingand peeling operations, and presents the pear to the coring mechanism.During the movement of the lfeed carriage from the position shown inFig. 10 to that shown in Fig. 13,

ythe stem end trimming and transfer operates to cutoff the stem end ofthe pear in a manner later described.

The coring mechanism comprises a rotatable coring knife 66 (Fig. 1), andclamp means 61 mounted for vertical movement relative to the coringknife as later described by means of a cor' ing carriage or sleeve 1|(Figs. 1 and 5) which is slidable vertically on a post 12 extendingbetween frame brackets 3 and 6. The vertical movement of the sleeve 1|and the clamp means supported thereby is effected by means of a camfollower arm 13 pivoted at 14 in frame bracket 5 and having its forkedfront end connected by links 16 with sleeve 1|. u Intermediate its ends,arm 13 carries a roller 11 engagedwith the track of a cam 18 on4camshaft 22. To control the extent of downward movement of the sleeve1l, a stud 19 is mounted in cross bar to form a stopv for engagementwith the lower end of the sleeve, while the downward movement vthereofis retarded by a spring 80 about the lower end of post 12. The detailsof construction and operation of the coring mechanism are describedhereinafter.

After the coring operation, the pear is received from the coring clampmeans by a slicing means indicated generally at 8|, which is movedforward under control of the feed carriage for this purpose, asdescribed hereinafter, and then back to a rearward position where theslicing operation occurs.

It will be understood that pears are fed successively through themachine, and that whiler one pear is being sliced, the next succeedingpear is being cored, the second succeeding pear is being peeled, and thethird succeeding pear is being fed to the centering and feeding means.As duplicate mechanisms are controlled and operated simultaneously, suchy successive operations are performed simultaneously on two series ofpears, as lwill be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionof the various mechanisms.

Flan AND CENTERING MEANS The feed and centering means 43 (Figs. 1 and10-13) for each series of pears are similar, and

each such means preferably comprises a rotatable cone shaped cup toreceive and position the stem end of a pear and the pair of opposed andinterconnected clamps for yieldably engaging and positioning the blossomor calyx end of a pear by engaging the exterior contour thereof. Aspreviously described, the centering means are mounted on the horizontalfeedcarriage and the centering clamps are opened and'closed at the twoextremes of travel of the carriage as will appear hereinseated on thebracket 32 and its lower end extending through seat |0| to receive afastening vnut |03. A holder bracket |04 is secured adjacent the upperend of the post |02 by a suitable set screw and is provided at its upperend with a seat for a bearing |06, upon which a cup holder |01 isrotatably mounted. The cup holder |01 is cylindrical lower end vof acone shaped cup |08, which is also centrally apertured. As previouslyexplained, the cup I 08 by virtue of its downwardly converging walls isadapted to receive and center the stem end of a pear, while therotatable mounting thereof provides for rotation of theI tering of theclamps with respect to the cup |08.

As seen in Figs. 1,1 and 12, the bottom of bracket H6 is provided withslots ||1 to receive suitable fastening bolts which also pass throughslots v||1a formed at right angles to slots ||1 in a supporting bracketH8. Bracket |8 has' a boss H9 suitably engaged about and secured tothe'l post |02 by a set screw.

The clamps 0 and are interconnected for simultaneous movement toward andfrom clamping position by respective horizontally and vertically spacedextensions |2| and |22thereof, and

a` pivot block |23 which slides between extensions |22 and is pivotedtoextensions |2| The clamps ||0 and are yieldably urged to a clampingposition by a spring |24 compressed between a depending ear |26 of bossI4, and a wall bracket H6, which .are apertured to receive a springsupportingstud |21. The inward movement of clamps ||0 and (when no pearis fed) is limv ||0 and are mounted and connected to engage the calyxend of a pear and center the same from`the exterior contour thereof.

' Latch means is provided for maintaining the open position of theclamps when desired, and such means may comprise a latch lever `|3 I,which is ,pivotally' mounted intermediate its ends'on the boss ||4 andis normally urged to clamping position by a spring |32. At one end oflatching lever |3I, a notch is provided for engagement with a lug |33projecting from the arm ||2 of clamp H0, while its other end extendsoutwardly to engage latch release means in the form of a trip |36, whichismounted for ariustment toward and from the latch lever by a suitablebolt and slot connection ,with an upstanding bracket |31 on bar 2 of theframe. Trip |36 is so positioned with respect to the latch lever |3|that when the feed carriage reaches its extreme forward travel as shownin Fig. 10, the latchA lever |3| is disengaged and held in suchvposition as illustrated.

lThe above described release of the clamps ||0 and permits them toengage about and center a pear which is positioned in the cup` |08,

so thatl during subsequentreturn movement of the feed carriage, the pearwillv be moved into alignment with the stemming tube 44 with its calyxend uppermost, `the pear being held-in the centered position determinedby the cup |08 and the clamps |I0 and While the feed carriage isstationary in its lrearward position, the peeling and stemming carriagemoves downwardly so that the` stemming tube 44 engages and penetratesthe pear.

At this time the clamps ||0 and l are opened by means mounted on thestemming and peeling carriage, For this purpose, the clamp is providedwith an offset arm |4| carrying a roller |42 for engagement with avertically disposed cam |43 (Fig. 1) which has its collar |44 adjustablysecured on the adjacent carriage shaft 46, and is in vertical alignmentwith the roller |42 in the position of the carriage shown in Fig. 13.The timing of this operation is such that the cam |43 during itsdownward travel will engage the roller |42 shortly after the stemmingtube 44 has commenced its penetration of the pear. In this manner thealignment or centering of the pear by the clamps I |0 and is maintainedso that the pear is impaled on the tube 44 in this same centeredrelation. However, the clamps I I0 and are moved to open positionimmediately after the stemming tube has penetrated the pear a sufficientamount to hold the same in its centered position during the remainder ofthe impaling operation.

STEMMING AND FEELING MECH/mism Stemming tube As previously explained,`the stemming tube is mounted for vertical reciprooation with thestemming and peeling carriage, and at the same time, `the tube isprovided with a vdrive connection whereby it is rotated constantlyduring operation of the machine. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be notedthat each stemming tube assembly includes a hollow shaft |5|, which ismounted for vertical sliding movement in the adjacent projecting arms 48and 49 of the standard 4, and is provided with a grooved collar |52,which is engaged by a fork |53, secured on the cross bar 41 of thestemming and peeling carriage. The inter-engagement of the collar |52and the fork |53 provides for vertical movement of the stemming tubewith the carriage while allowing relative rotation of the tube withrespect to the carriage.

The drive connection for shaft |5| of the stemming tube comprises acollar |56 (Fig. 1) which has a splined connection with shaft |5| and isheld in place on arm 48 by a clamp |51. At its upper end collar |56 isprovided with an integral bevel pinion meshing with a bevel gear |58 ona transverse drive shaft |59, journalled in upstanding bosses |60 of thearms 49. As seen most clearly in Figs. 3 and 5, shaft |59 is providedwith a small sprocket |6| which is driven through chain |62 from alarger sprocket |63 on the drive shaft |0, so that a relatively rapidrate of rotation is provided for shaft |5| of the stemming tubeassembly.

The stemming tube proper comprises tube |66 (Figs. 1 and 14) having itslower end sharpened to facilitate penetration of the fruit, and havingan enlarged upper threaded portion |61 which threads within the hollowshaft |5| and is locked in position relative thereto by a nut |68.Intermediate its ends, the tube |66 is provided with a plurality ofspirally mounted, radially extending ns |69, which are somewhatelongated and taper from their lower ends upwardly to provide increasedradial depth of their upper ends.

The stemming tube assembly rotates in a direction corresponding to thelead of the spirally mounted fins |69, so that in penetrating the pear,such fins tend to act as screw threads and draw the pear up onto thetube |66, and hold it from pushing off while the peeling operation iseffected. The angle of the ns is so selected that the pear is alwayslifting up or pulling toward the knife, as will be more apparent laterin connection with the description of the peeling operation. At the sametime the increasing radial depth of the fins |69 provides a wedgingaction as thel fins enter a pear to insure firm gripping of the pear,such action being especially desirable if the fruit being processed issoft. It will be noted that during the downward pear impaling movementof the tube |66, the tube will cut out a cylindrical segment containingthe stem portion of the pear and a part of the core and the calyx.

Peeling knife mechanism The peeling knife proper is of specialconstruction, as described hereinafter, to permit its operative peelingengagement over the entire surface of the pear during upward travel ofthe stemming tube without gouging by the blade edges, and, to facilitateits peeling operation, the knife is mounted for universal movement ascontrolled by cam means carried by the stemming and peeling carriage.Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a bracket |16 is secured to the front faceof standard 4 and extends forwardly and then upwardly to provide avertical boss |11 which pivotally receives a pin |18 (Figs. 16-18 and25) suitably secured in opposed ears |19 of a knife assembly supportingbracket |80. Thus, the knife assembly supporting bracket and the peelingknife carried thereon are mounted for pivotal swinging movement aboutthe vertical axis of the pin |18, and such swinging movement iscontrolled in a manner later described.

The bracket |80 is provided with spaced horizontal bosses |8|, |82 toreceive a knife supporting shaft |83, which provides a horizontalpivotal axis of support for the knife. Knife supporting shaft |83 isheld against endwise movement by a knife arm bracket |84 secured on theshaft |83 adjacent the boss |82 and a knife control guide |86 secured onthe shaft |83 adjacent boss |8|, as seen most clearly in Fig. 25. Asseen in Figs. 20 and 25, the knife shaft |83 is provided intermediateits ends with a cam |81 having two arcuate surfaces of differing radii,and which is engaged by a flat U-shaped spring |88 secured on thebracket |80. As explained later, the position shown in Fig. 20corresponds to the initial peeling position of the knife blade withrespect to the calyx end of the pear. The simultaneous engagement of thespring |88 with the two surfaces of cam |81 provides a definite angularposition of knife shaft |83, and accordingly of the knife blade at thebeginning of the peeling operation. This insures peeling of the base ofthe pear immediately around the calyx even after wear in the knifecontrolling parts.

The knife arm bracket |84 is provided with opposed upstanding ears |9|to receive a pivot pin |92 (Figs. 16, 17 and 25) secured in one end ofknife arm |93. Knife arm |93 extends through a vertical slot |94 (Figs.24 and 25) in the knife arm guide |86, and its forward end has a knifebracket |98 threaded thereon and locked in position by a nut |91. Theknife bracket |94 is provided with an L-shaped forward extension |98whose offset end is spaced from and forms an angle with a flat guidesupporting portion |99 of the bracket. The offset end of L-shapedportion |98 provides a mounting for the knife 6| and a substantiallyV-shaped peeling guide 200, which are secured thereon by suitablefastening screws. On the bottom face of portion |99, pear engaging guideplate 20| is adjustably secured vso byi a clamp 202, ywith thebevelededge of the plate 20| in spaced relation from the beveled cuttingedge of knife 0|. The spacing of the plate 20| from the knife 8| gaugesthe thickness of the peeling removed by the knife,.the peeling beingcarriedaway through the peeling guide 200. Slot |94 in the guide |86allows movement of the knife with arm |93 about its axis |92 against theinuence of a spring 203 (Figs. 16'and 17), which is tensioned betweenthe top of the guide |86 and a projection 204 on the knife arm. -Thusthe knife |99 can move inwardly and outwardly with reference to a. pearbeing pelled, to accommodate any irregularity in the contour thereof, orto cooperate with various sizes of pears, and is spring urged againstthe pear withV the guide plate 20| in engagement therewith. Y

As previouslyV explained, the peeling operation starts at the calyx endof the pear and proceeds as the pear is drawn upwardly past the knife,and means is provided for turning the knife about the axis of the knifesupporting shaft |80 so that it will travel around the bulge of thepear'in timed relation to the upward movement of the pear. Such controlmeans is preferably 'provided in the form of a cam and guide controlbracket which is mounted for vertical movement with the stemminglandpeeling carriage. LFor this purpose, a cam control bracket 2||(Figs. 16,

17, 19 and 24) is mounted by a support 2|2 onL elongated'projection 2|4(Fig. 26)"v of generally` oval cross vsection on the guide |80. Bpacedbelow the guide slot 2 I3, the bracket 2|| (Fig. 19) is'provided with atransverse cam projection 2|0 at the top of a guiding edge 2| 1, both ofwhich rlzcsicsaperate with the projection 2|4 of the guide In the lowestposition of the stemming and feeding carriage, projection 2|4 is engagedwith guide slot 2|3 as shown in Fig. 17, and spring |08 is engagedwith-cam |01 as shown in Fig. 20, to maintain the knife assembly asshown'in full lines in Figs. 16 and 24. 'In this position the knife isadapted to engage the pear as illustrated in Fig.-28. '.As the pear onthe stemming tube, y

and the control bracketI 2|| start moving up-y wardly, cam extension 2|0of bracket 2|| engages projection 2|4 of the guide |80, and rocks theguide and the knife about the shaft |88 imtil pin-ZIB on the guide |88engages edge 2|1 of the bracket 2|| `as shown in dotted lines in Fig.241. For purposes of convenient illustration, the dotted line positionof guide |80 in Fig. 24 is shown as though the guide had movedvertically rather than control cam 2|| and shaft 40 as ac tually occurs.The timing of the rotation of the knife about the axis of shaft |80 isIsuch that the pear moves relative to the knife from the position shownin Fig. 28, through that shown in Fig. 29, to that shown in Fig. 30, therate of movement of the stemming tube and the pear is relatively slowduring this time as the knife is peeling over the longest peripheralpart of the pear. When the knife is positioned as in Fig. 30, projection2|4 and pin 2|8 are engaged with the edge 2|1 of the control cam 2|| andremain in engagement Atherewith until the peeling operation iscompleted, that is, while the knife and pear have relative movement fromthe position of Fig. 30 to that of Fig. 31.

At the end of the peeling operation, means is brought into play to swingthe knife away from the pear and permitrernovall of the pear from thestemming tube. For this, purpose a cam slider 21sA (Figs. 1, 2, 16 and17) 1s mountedv by means of a h ub 220 on theadjacent shaft 48, and

roller 222 (Fig. 17)on the supporting brackety |80 to control swingingmovement of the bracket.

about the axis of the pin |18. Roller 222 and track portion 22|AAoperate to swing the knife supporting bracket and the knife arm |93lateral-A ly to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 17, so that theknife assembly will be out of the way 0i' the pear to permit its removalfrom the stemming tube, as later described. While the guide |80 is outof engagement with its position controlling means on the bracket 2||,the position of the knife about the axis of the knife shaft |83 vismaintained by the engagement of spring |88 with its associated vcam|81.V As the stemming and peeling ycarriage starts its upward travel.portion 22|A of cam' slot22| becomes effective to return the knifeassembly into relation with the control means therefor.

During the subsequent upwardtravel of control bracket 2| cam extension2|8 thereof .engages a tail 223 of guide |88, and rocks the guide backto the position shown in Figs. 17 and 24, where an extending lug 224(Figs. 17 and 26) of guide |80 is engaged with a stop projection 228(Figs. 17 and 18) of the supporting bracket |80, the assembly beingresiliently maintained in this position by the engagement of spring |88with cam |81 as seen inzFig. 20. Y

Means lare provided for preventing the peeling knife from striking thestemming tube, in the event no pear is fed during the operation, so asto avoid injury to the parts. Such means comprises a cam 22B (Figs.19'and 24) which is secured to the cam bracket`2|| in alignment with aroller ',221 on the knife arm |93. It will lbe noted that the cam 228conforms generally to the outline of a pear, the projecting portionthereof being such as to carry the knife clear of the fins |88 on thestemming tube |80, the relation of the parts being seen most clearly inFig. l. Preferably, the lower part of the cam 228 determines the outlineof the stem end of the pear. This is eifected by allowing re-peeling orrepeatedoperation of the peeling knife on the stem portion of the pearuntil the roller 221 engages the cam 220 and prevents further peeling.If desired, the cam 220 can be. similarly used throughoutits length toprovide a "formed pear of a desired contour. A Y f The peeling knife |99has aicutting edge of special contour to enable successful peeling ofvarious types of pears, particularly those which have a more or lesssharply curved portion extending from the bulb to the neck, as forexample, with the contour shown in Figs. 28 to 31. The peeling knife asillustrated in Fig. 23is provided with arcuate sections .23|, 232Y and233, which have different curvatures as provided by the respectiveradii, r1, r2, and r3. at the leading edge of the blade, and section 233is at the trailing edge where the first peeling occurs as illustrated inFig, 28. It will be noted in Fig. 28 that the -arc of edge 283 is suchthat it contacts-the top of the pear, but that the side edge cannotgouge. Then as the blade is rocked around as in Fig. 29, the peeling is`done entirely by the central portion 232 which has the least Section23| is

